The present invention relates to phosphor compositions, particularly phosphors for use in lighting applications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a phosphor for converting UV light to green light for use in an LED or LCD and a lighting apparatus employing the same.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor light emitters often used as a replacement for other light sources, such as incandescent lamps. They are particularly useful as display lights, warning lights and indicating lights or in other applications where colored light is desired. The color of light produce by an LED is dependent on the type of semiconducting material used in its manufacture.
Colored semiconductor light emitting devices, including light emitting diodes and lasers (both are generally referred to herein as LEDs), have been produced from Group III-V alloys such as gallium nitride (GaN). To form the LEDs, layers of the alloys are typically deposited epitaxially on a substrate, such as silicon carbide or sapphire, and may be doped with a variety of n and p type dopants to improve properties, such as light emission efficiency. With reference to the GaN-based LEDs, light is generally emitted in the UV and/or blue range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Until quite recently, LEDs have not been suitable for lighting uses where a bright white light is needed, due to the inherent color of the light produced by the LED.
LEDs rely on its semiconductor to emit light. The light is emitted as a result of electronic excitation of the semiconductor material. As radiation (energy) strikes atoms of the semiconductor material, an electron of an atom is excited and jumps to an excited (higher) energy state. The higher and lower energy states in semiconductor light emitters are characterized as the conduction band and the valence band, respectively. The electron, as it returns to its ground energy state, emits a photon. The photon corresponds to an energy difference between the exited state and ground energy state, and results in an emission of radiation.
Recently, techniques have been developed for converting the light emitted from LEDs to useful light for illumination purposes. In one technique, the LED is coated or covered with a phosphor layer. By interposing a phosphor excited by the radiation generated by the LED, light of a different wavelength, e.g., in the visible range of the spectrum may be generated. Colored LEDs are often used in toys, indicator lights and other devices. These LEDs typically contain a UV emitting LED and a red, blue, green or other color emitting phosphor. Manufacturer's are continuously looking for new colored phosphors for use in such LEDs to produce custom colors and higher luminosity.
In addition to colored LEDs, a combination of LED generated light and phosphor generated light may be used to produce white light. The most popular white LEDs consist of blue emitting GaInN chips. The blue emitting chips are coated with a phosphor that converts some of the blue radiation to a complimentary color, e.g. a yellow-green emission. Together, the blue and yellow-green radiation produces a white light. There are also white LEDs that utilize a UV emitting chip and a phosphor blend including red, green and blue emitting phosphors designed to convert the UV radiation to visible light.
One known yellow-whitish light emitting device comprises a blue light-emitting LED having a peak emission wavelength at about 450 nm combined with a yellow light-emitting phosphor, such as cerium doped yttrium aluminum garnet Y3Al5O2:Ce3+ (“YAG:Ce”). The phosphor absorbs a portion of the radiation emitted from the LED and converts the absorbed radiation to a yellow light. The remainder of the blue light emitted by the LED is transmitted through the phosphor and is mixed with the yellow light emitted by the phosphor. A viewer perceives the mixture of blue and yellow light, which in most instances is perceived as a whitish-yellow light. Such a device, while suitable for limited applications, fails in applications where a true bright white light of high intensity and brightness is desired.
In addition to this somewhat limited emission intensity, the color output of such an LED-phosphor system varies greatly due to frequent, unavoidable routine deviations from desired parameters (i.e. manufacturing systemic errors) during the production of the light. For example, the color output of the finished device is very sensitive to the thickness of the phosphor layer covering the LED. If the phosphor is too thin, then more than a desired amount of the blue light emitted by the LED will penetrate through the phosphor and the combined phosphor-LED output will appear bluish. In contrast, if the phosphor layer is too thick, then less than a desired amount of the blue LED light will penetrate through the phosphor layer. In this case, the combined phosphor-LED output will appear yellowish. Therefore, the thickness of the phosphor layer is an important variable affecting the color output of a blue LED based system. Unfortunately, the thickness of the phosphor layer is difficult to control during large-scale production of LED-phosphor lamp systems, and the variations in phosphor thickness often result in relatively poor lamp to lamp color control. In addition, lamp to lamp variations occur due to the varying of the optical power from chip to chip.
The use of a UV LED chip to manufacture such a white-light system should give superior color performance compared to those based on blue LED chips since the UV chip is not appreciably contributing to the visible color of the LED. Recent advances, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,255,670, are directed to the use of specific phosphor systems in conjunction with a UV emitting LED to emit white light. While effective, new phosphor combinations are needed to produce efficient white light with various spectral outputs to meet the needs of different market segments.
Thus, a need exists for a new green emitting phosphor to produce both colored and white-light LEDs and showing improved lamp to lamp color control and acceptable luminous efficacy.